Honda Shadow and no rpm gauge

[luciferrrrrrrrr]

yea... im still new to riding, but i check everything before i leave for anywhere. forgive me if this is the wrong thing to do.

it doesnt hurt to check though, its not a car, its a bike.

as for the rpm gauge. in your user manual it says to use the spedometer if your not used to being without one. i think it is a much better idea to "feel" the shifts tho.

its your bike, if you want to rev it high, then rev it high.

[roscowgo]

Listening to your bike instead of staring down at the handlebars while driving is probably a pretty good idea.

I would agree after a while but the sound of the engine is not always a good indicator, if the engine is running at a safe rpm or between shifts. After someone gets use to the proper sound going into or out of gear, is where your statement would come in.

Also I'd like to know if I have a slow Radiator leak before I pass the last station or city. Same for Oil pressure and battery not charging. (especially of the larger cc bikes- no push start there!)

You have a point. I concede the argument to you sir.

I'm generally too busy staring at the traffic, most notably the ijit in the shiny new mustang with his only 3 friends, all of which are on cel-phones and passing around a rather er "special" cigarette.

does come in handy when im trying to get my idle speed right though.

[canuckerjay]

I have personally never felt the need for a tach on my Vstar. Perhaps the reason for manufacturers not puting one on something like a shadow is because most people who buy those kinds of bikes don't want a ton of gadgets on thier bikes, will rarely redline the things, and on the rare occasion the bike is pushed, can rely on the rev limiter.

If you're new to bikes and are concerned about how you shift, I agree with a couple other posts, just read the manual; it should tell you when to shift according to speed. After a while, you'll get used to the bike and go by feel. Eh, you're on a cruiser; just cruise, enjoy the ride and forget worrying about anything -- including what you're revs are.

[Dichotomous]

well, the manual says to shift WAY before I even get into ANY power at ALL on my bike. Plus at speed I cant hear my engine much over wind noise anyways. a quick glance down at the speedo and the tach is right there too, I like to check my speed often so I am not breaking the law much, or by much. the tach is usually right there so you can see out of the side of your eye where the needle is relatively, its not like you have to stare and interperate it, its not a puzzle to be solved its a super quick glance. my old LS650 didnt have a tach and I hated it, couldnt tell if I was pushing it or not, or whether I should be one gear lower so I didnt dog the engine (I'd prefer to know before I twist the throttle what the bike is gonna do when I twist it, never knew without a tach. Hell, my automatic jeep has it and I am glad for it. its a basic engine indicator telling you what is going on in a constantly exploding and possibly bombish device only a few inches from your two favorite boyz..... kinda nice to know these things.....
plus aftermarket tachs are everywhere and pretty easy to hook up, just cause honda doesnt have one specifically made for that model doesnt mean somebody else doesnt, or you cant take one that will work great and make the bike look great too and such for only a few bucks and an hour of your time....
if a bike doesnt have a tach and you want one, add it or buy a different bike

[flw]

Granted these are all our opinions but it seems to me that a bike with no tach, is like a car with no spare tire (even the tiny one) . We should expect more from the makers, not less as time and prices march on.

I guess that is my opinion and point. That and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.

[CNF2002]

I dont need a tach. It has a limiter, so I just throttle it as much as I need to make bike go. Go bike go!

[dieziege]

It's really an engine difference more than anything else.

Engines with fewer big cylinders tend to produce a lot of torque and have a harder time breathing at higher RPMs... net result is that the power drops off fairly quickly at fairly low revs and you'll want to shift long before you need to shift.

Engines with more smaller cylinders tend to have less torque but breathe well at higher revs. My bike redlines at 14K and the HP peak is somewhere around 13K... it is EASY to smack into the rev limiter.

I like instrumentation but I wouldn't be too disappointed if a large-displacement single or twin didn't have a tach. I would be frustrated if a smaller displacement "rev happy" engine didn't have one though.

[jmillheiser]

my bandit has a tach, it needs it too, easy to hit the rev limiter at 12k. My CX500 also had a tach which did come in handy.

personally I would not own a bike without one.

[zed]

I have only been riding for about a year. My bike (Vulcan 500) does not have a tach and it took me some time to get used to that.
I have been driving nothing but manual transmission cars for over 30 yrs and I drive by the tach more so than the speedometer. For instance I check the rpm 1st then the speed.
I think anything with a manual tranny should have a tach.

[niterider]

Take the vn750 out and get on it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears and then decide if it needs a tach. I feel mine needs one it don't take much for it to red line.
I asked the dealer why no tachs, he said most bikes now are all about look at me, and not so much as look at what I can do.